Supporting an ambitious goal

With the second phase of its Pike Motorworks development, the Wolff Co. created a luxury high-rise experience in a wood-frame building, and was seeking rents to match. This called for a strong, distinctive launch strategy.

Seeking to set a new standard in Capitol Hill

Pike Motorworks consists of two seven-story buildings, containing 260 apartments and 20,473 square feet of commercial space along the historic auto row in Seattle’s hip, dense Capitol Hill neighborhood. The first building was pretty much in line with other new product in the area. For the 106-unit second phase, however, Wolff created high-end units with sleek, designer finishes, and was seeking to achieve rents over $4 a square foot – a first for Capitol Hill. Wolff brought Red Propeller in to develop a marketing strategy to reflect the second phase’s unique offering and launch it in a tight marketplace.

Modeling residences with distinction

Ahead of any marketing launch, Red Propeller led the creation of two distinct model homes that reinforced the brand story and created a memorable experience for prospects during tours. The design strategy married personas of a likely resident with an aesthetic that highlighted the unique style of the homes themselves.

One bedroom model residence at Pike Motorworks LTD

Two bedroom model residence at Pike Motorworks LTD

Introducing a limited edition

Red Propeller created a sub-brand for the new homes, designating them as “Pike Motorworks Ltd.”  We directed a photo shoot that conveyed the fashionable, exclusive attitude of the sub-brand and created a special “LTD” section of the Pike Motorworks website, featuring these images and distinctive taglines, such as “Live in a limited edition.” An ad campaign supported the brand introduction, and we collaborated with BMW to launch their Reach Now car sharing services in the United States.

Red Propeller and Wolff Co. wove Pike Motorworks LTD into the launch of BMW’s Reach Now services.

We created a marketing campaign focused on a series of limited-edition, exclusive events and experiences in Capitol Hill, such as a whiskey mixing and blending class led by a local distiller and a trunk show by a Capitol Hill boutique. This effort culminated in a grand opening party MCed by local drag queens, who shoulder tapped groups of 20 at a time and led them inside for exclusive experiences, such as a wine tasting with Ryan Crane of Kerloo Cellars and poster autograph and selfie session with former Seattle Supersonics great Shawn Kemp. Snippets of these experiences were occasionally streamed on a giant video screen in the courtyard, creating more buzz.

Over 500 influencers, residents, prospects, media and neighbors attended the grand opening event put on by Red Propeller

At random, guests were invited into a model home to have a unique experience, including meeting Seattle basketball legend Shawn Kemp.

Capitol Hill drag queen personalities acted as emcees for the event, which was live streamed for the world.